Little Joe (frag.)

Collected by
Mary Celestia Parler;
Transcribed by
Neil Byer
Mrs. Rubey Rubow
Seligman, Mo.
November 20, 1954
Reel 213, Item 2
Little Joe (fragment)
What will the birds do, Mother, in the spring
When the little brown birds come to my door?
They'll hop on the window, they'll hop on the step,
Asking why Little Joe roams no more.
Mother, love Tiger, love Tiger for me,
For you know he will mourn for me too,
Show him my coat so he will not forget
On the long summer days through.
And you, Mother dear, will miss me for a while,
But in heaven no long /??? will I grow,
And a sweet loving angel will meet you at the gate,
When you call for your darling Little Joe.
What will old Thomas, the gardener, do
When you call there for flowers for me?
He'll give you the ones he's tended with care,
The fairest bloom on the tree.
And poor Uncle Ben in a faraway camp
Will be sad o'er the letters that you write,
He'll say, Mother dear, Joe's gone to rest,
Marching nearer and nearer the line.

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Collected by
Mary Celestia Parler;
Transcribed by
Neil Byer
Mrs. Rubey Rubow
Seligman, Mo.
November 20, 1954
Reel 213, Item 2
Little Joe (fragment)
What will the birds do, Mother, in the spring
When the little brown birds come to my door?
They'll hop on the window, they'll hop on the step,
Asking why Little Joe roams no more.
Mother, love Tiger, love Tiger for me,
For you know he will mourn for me too,
Show him my coat so he will not forget
On the long summer days through.
And you, Mother dear, will miss me for a while,
But in heaven no long /??? will I grow,
And a sweet loving angel will meet you at the gate,
When you call for your darling Little Joe.
What will old Thomas, the gardener, do
When you call there for flowers for me?
He'll give you the ones he's tended with care,
The fairest bloom on the tree.
And poor Uncle Ben in a faraway camp
Will be sad o'er the letters that you write,
He'll say, Mother dear, Joe's gone to rest,
Marching nearer and nearer the line.